An intense blue sky, an azure sea, pine trees, ochre sand… For the duration of an exhibition, travel with your paintings from the Basque Country to Marseille without leaving Maine et Loire!

From 8 September to 18 October 2023, the Domaine de Rocheville in Parnay will be hosting a temporary exhibition of paintings by Sébastien Arcouet entitled “On dirait le Sud…” (“It looks like the south”), organised in collaboration with the gallery Le Cactus Bleu. The painter’s colourful works are an invitation to extend the summer in the most beautiful of ways.

Sébastien Arcouet, a self-taught painter

Who is Sébastien Arcouet ?

Born in 1976, Sébastien Arcouet is a French painter from south-west France. At the age of 15, he moved with his family near Marseille. An artist at heart since childhood, he gradually improved his drawing technique.

From chemistry to drawing

At secondary school, he wondered whether he should make art his career, but a guidance counsellor talked him out of it and he went on to study chemistry, where he got excellent marks. After graduating with a master’s degree in science and technology, majoring in chemistry, he worked for 2 years at Veolia, carrying out qualitative studies on the chemical depolishing of glass, but the work didn’t suit him.

In 2002, Sébastien Arcouet joined Pébéo, a company based in Gémenos (Bouches-du-Rhônes), specialising in the manufacture of paint for artists. He worked there for 18 years, simultaneously nurturing his scientific side and his artistic sensibility. This enabled him to communicate with both researchers and artists, a major advantage for the company!

In parallel with his work, he researched his style, trying out a variety of painting media and techniques to find what best suited his art. 

The birth of Trompette, his first character

In 2014, Sébastien Arcouet drew inspiration from his childlike soul to create Trompette, a crayoned, unstructured character. Using pencil and watercolour, the little character is depicted in everyday scenes that invite the viewer to reflect and escape. 

The painter has created several watercolours revisiting paintings by famous artists such as Picasso, Botticelli, Chagall, Klimt, Doisneau and Toulouse-Lautrec. Trompette invites himself into each of these works, to rediscover the great classics of art in a playful and poetic way. To bring this series of works to a close, Sébastien Arcouet is publishing a book in 2019 entitled “Le Monde de Trompette”, featuring around a hundred watercolours depicting his character.

Painting landscapes of Marseille

In 2019, during the period of confinement, the painter will produce a series of paintings depicting the Phocaean city. He teamed up with Lionel Borla, who wrote texts inspired by the painter’s works. Together they published a book entitled “Carnet Marseillais”, in which they explored Marseilles in a different way, through the eyes of both artists.

Sébastien Arcouet’s artistic inspirations

Initially an imaginative painter, Sébastien Arcouet now focuses on landscapes through his figurative art. He has built up his artistic development and style through encounters with people, artists and painters who have inspired him.

He believes that being an artist is above all a matter of observing, interpreting and reinterpreting what surrounds us. He has always admired the little details that others overlook.

His philosophy

He really began his art at the age of 20, studying painting techniques, and quickly realised that “it was necessary to go beyond technique to get messages across”.

He says: “Painting people and landscapes, trying, for a moment, to stop time and perhaps accept that sometimes we go too fast and that it’s good to know how to slow down, look and see, landscapes and people.

Sébastien Arcouet also creates commissioned works.

The artist’s techniques

Sébastien Arcouet paints in a variety of media, including oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache and pencil. He also does linocuts.

He also uses a variety of media: paper, canvas, cardboard, porcelain, walls, etc. His professional environment has helped him to learn that it is important to find the right tools to match the style of his paintings.

The painter explains: “I try to work with as many media and techniques as possible to discover new things all the time, and there’s more to come…”.

Painter, but not only…

Co-founder of Galerie 1809 in Marseille

In 2017, Sébastien Arcouet co-founded Galerie 1809, a contemporary art gallery, with Marina Leprince-Ringuet and Florent Touchot. Initially only virtual, the gallery now has a showroom in the centre of Marseille. The works of several contemporary artists are exhibited there, and are also offered for sale through the various exhibitions and the Galerie 1809 website.

Galerie 1809 is also developing long-term collaborations between artists and companies. The artists are tasked with creating works and events in conjunction with the host organisation, under one-year contracts. 

These one-year collaborations guarantee a regular income for the artists, while giving them time to forge links, without risking the loss of creativity that a long-term collaboration might entail.

Sébastien Arcouet, a multi-skilled artist

Sébastien Arcouet is also a freelance consultant, thanks in particular to his long experience with Pébéo. He assists companies with project management and advises companies that produce and supply equipment for artists.

In addition to this, the painter has the gift of dowsing. He uses energetic medicine to treat certain illnesses such as shingles. After 5 years’ training, he graduated from the Fédération Française de Shiatsu Traditionnel and has been working as a Shiatsu practitioner at Coucoun since 2019.

On dirait le Sud”: a nod to Nino Ferrer

Throughout September, some twenty canvases of various sizes by Sébastien Arcouet are on show at the Domaine de Rocheville.

The painting techniques used are acrylic and gouache, on canvas stretchers and tinted paper. 

Representing natural landscapes in France and seaside scenes, more particularly in the south-west and around the city of Marseille, the paintings seduce with their bright, contrasting colours.

The Marseillais by adoption loves the warm hues of the Mediterranean coast.

With flat expanses of ultramarine blue that make you want to dive into the paintings, warm ochres, yellows and browns, the title of the exhibition was an obvious choice.

Indeed, in Sébastien Arcouet’s paintings, as in “Le Sud”, the 1975 hit by the singer Nino Ferrer, it’s always summer!

Travel across France with the stroke of a brush

The Landes region inspired him, particularly the marine lake at Hossegor, which he depicts in “Les Pins du Lac d’Hossegor” or, more simply, “Le Lac d’Hossegor”.

A little trip to Marseille? Admire “Port-Pin”, Mont Sainte-Victoire or the spectacular diptych “La Calanque de Sugiton”, which has found a special place on the Rocheville mantelpiece.

Set off from the Basque country (painting “La forêt de Chiberta”) and a few steps away, cross the Spanish border to admire the view of “Callela de Palafrugel”, a coastal town just over 100 km south of Perpignan.

The Atlantic Ocean is not to be outdone, with “La Dune du Pilat” and even the famous cliffs of Etretat.

On canvas, Sébastien Arcouet invites each viewer to contemplate and make their own personal interpretation. For a moment, it’s like being on holiday again…

Domaine de Rocheville: a winegrowing estate and atypical exhibition venue

Wine and Art…

Domaine de Rocheville is a modern wine estate in the Loire Valley, created in 2004. Located in Parnay, in the heart of the Saumur Champigny appellation, it produces white, rosé, red and fine bubbly wines in the Saumur Blanc, Saumur Rosé, Saumur Champigny and Crémant de Loire appellations. 

The estate has been committed to preserving the environment and biodiversity ever since it was founded, and its wines will be certified organic in 2019, as will its eco-responsible winery.

Art and wine !

At the same time, it has also supported artistic creation since the construction of its reception area in 2014, designed to hang painting, drawing or photography exhibitions on its picture rails. The contemporary artists on show are often local, but art at Rocheville knows no boundaries!

The large glass exhibition room, with its contemporary architecture, overlooks a green landscape of vineyards and the Parnay hillside. It is flooded with light, making the most of the works on display. The walls, made of white Migné Auxances stone, are ideal for bringing out the colours of the paintings, while accommodating a wide variety of artistic styles.

Wine events are held regularly in the large panoramic room, as are numerous temporary exhibitions of contemporary photography and painting. 

Whether you’re interested in abstract or figurative art, portraits or still lifes, subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with new temporary exhibitions at Domaine de Rocheville!

Practical information for the painting exhibition

Access

Domaine de Rocheville is located in the village of Parnay in Maine-et-Loire (49), 8 kilometres from Saumur, 1 hour’s drive from Angers and 50 minutes from Tours.

Access is via the Route des Vins and then the Chemin de Béniquet.

The building is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Dates and times

From 8 September to 18 October 2023

Hanging and opening of the exhibition : 8 September 2023, from 6pm to 8pm.

The painting exhibition and sale is open during the estate’s opening hours, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Admission is free.

All paintings are for sale (prices indicated on site). 

For more information, contact us on 02 41 38 10 00 or by e-mail.

When you come to see the exhibition, take the opportunity to discover or rediscover the wines and new vintages of Domaine de Rocheville!